Rotary ski sled

ABSTRACT

The invention comprises a ski sled having a dishlike body member for a passenger to ride in which is rotatably mounted centrally upon a ski. The ski sled, adapted to be towed behind either a boat or snowmobile on water or snow respectively and has a brake mechanism to releasably lock the dishlike member to the ski, whereby when the brake mechanism is released as the sled is being towed the engagement of the dishlike body member with the towing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Patrick W. F'sher 1,313,330 GrandForks, N. Dak. 58201; 2,961,252 James A. Fisher. Larimore, N. Dak. 582513,220,744 [21] Appl. No. 834,354 3,335,440 [22] Filed June 18, 19693,379,454 [45] Patented Aug. 17, 1971 [54] ROTARY SKI SLED 3 Claims, 8Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 280/24, 272/29, 272/32, 9/1 A [51] Int. Cl B621: 13/00 [50]Field ofSearch 280/12. 47.39, 79.1, 79.2, 87.01, 87.02, 87.03, 24;272/34, 35, 37, 43, 45, 48; 9/1 .5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,031,510 7/1912 Bail 272/32Pocock 272/35 UX Enblom 280/47.39 Gomory et al. 280/87.0l X Beakbane280/ 12 X Woodman 280/87.04

Primary Examiner- Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-Winston H. DouglasAnomey- Robert E. Kleve ABSTRACT: The invention comprises a ski sledhaving a dishlike body member for a passenger to ride in which isrotatably mounted centrally upon a ski. The ski sled, adapted to betowed behind either a boat or snowmobile on water or snow respectivelyand has a brake mechanism to releasably lock the dishlike member to theski, whereby when the brake mechanism is released as the sled is beingtowed the engagement of the dishlike body member with the towing surfacewill cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

| E 3 k d I 37 36 L f I a 1 I l I 4' I" r PATENTEUAUEWB?! 3.600.001

' sum 2 [IF 2 L .l' .I II d! I, Patrick w. Fisher 8 James A. FisherATTORNEY FIG.6. B

ROTARY SKI SLED The invention relates to ski vehicles, moreparticularly, the invention relates to ski sleds to be towed upon wateror snow.

It is an object of the invention to provide a novel single runnersledfor towing on either water or snow, which will rotate as it is beingtowed to provide added excitement to the rider. 7

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel dishlike bodymember rotatably mounted upon a single ski which dish member and ski maytip to one side or another with the functional engagement of the dishmember with the towing surface causing the dish member to rotate.

It is another object of the invention to provide a sled having a noveldishlike body member rotatably mounted on-a ski with a brake mechanismfor locking the dishlike member from rotation relative to the ski.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the novel rotating sled invention.v

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the rotating ski sled invention.

FIG-.3 is a cross-sectional view taken along .line 3-3 of FIG. I.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view similar to FIG.1 of the brake mechanism and mounting connection below the dishlike bodymember and ski of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged crosssectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.4, with the brakedrum cut away revealing the brake shoes and theiroperative mounting.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the side of the brake mechanismopposite FIG. 5, taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 with the brakedrum cutaway illustrating the brake shoes and the cam activation mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG.

Briefly stated the invention comprises a ski sled having a dishlike'bodymember for carrying a passenger, a'ski disposed centrally beneath thebody member, said dishlike body member being rotatably mounted to saidski, a brake mechanism for releasably locking said dish member to saidski for preventing the dishlike member from rotating relative to theski.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in FIG. 1, the ski sledinvention 20 is illustrated having a dishlike body member 21 and a ski22 rotatably mounted beneath the body member. A rope 23 is attached tothe forward end 22' of the ski for towing the invention either on snowor water by a snowmobile or powerboat, respectively.

The dishlike body member has a hollow watertight construction. Thedishlike body member is formed of an upper plastic half shell 26 and alower plastic half shell 27. The upper plastic shell has the centralannular recess portion 25 to provide room for a passenger to sit in. Acrossbar 28 is fixed to the top of the upper plastic shell. The upperand lower shells 26 and 27 are formed of plastic and are sealed togetheralong their outer circumferential edge 28 to provide the airtight hollowconstruction. The central recessed portion 25 of the top half shell 26has annular tapered inner sides 29 and a flat annular base 30 integrallymolded together. The outer annular sides 31 of the plastic half shellare molded integrally to the upper annular edge 29' of the tapered sidesof the recessed portion.

The lower annular plastic half shell 27 has eight identical sections 33with their edges 33' and 33" converging together at a shallow angle toform eight projecting corners or lower ridges 34 extending radiallyoutward and upward. The outer tapered annular portion 31 of the top halfshell has eight sections 35 identical to each other with their edges 35'and 35" converging together at a shallow angle to form eight projectingupper comers or ridges 36 which extend radially outward and downward.

A cylindrical plastic sleeve 37 is fitted between the upper and lowerhalf shells 26 and 27 with its upper and lower edges sealed to the upperand lower shells 26 and 27 respectively in water or airtight relation tothereby form an outer annular airtight compartment 38 so that thedishlike member 21 will float upon water, when the invention is used asa water sled.

The ski 22 has a steel cylindrical mounting post 39 fixed to the ski 22and the mounting post 39 has two collars 40 and 40", a brakedrum 41fixed to the post immediately above the collar 40". The brake drum 41has a flat annular disc portion 42 fixed to the collar 40" and acylindrical upright wall portion 42' fixed to the disc portion 42.

The brake mechanism 38 is located in the center of the dish member 21between the upper and lower half shells 26 and 27 The dishlike bodymember 21 has a pair of metal meta plates 43 and 44 which are fixed tothe underside of the half shells 26 and 27, respectively, by means offour bolts 45 which pass through the metal plates 43 and 44 and halfshells 26 and 27, and through four meta] holes 46 which act as spacers.Threaded nuts 47 are threaded onto the lower ends of the bolts 45 totighten the metal plates and upper and lower shells together in spacedfixed relation as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and The dishlike body member 21also has a pair of conventional brakeshoes 48 and 49 which are attachedto the body member 21, by means of a pin 50 fixed to the upper shell 26and upper plate 43 from which the pin extends down into the brakedrum,and the brakeshoes 48 and 49 are pivotally mounted at their one ends 48"and 49" in overlapping relation to the pin 50. The pin 50 terminatesshort of engagement with the disc portion 42 of the brakedrum so as tobe free of the brakedrum. A cam 52 is fixed to the lower end ofa pin 53,and the pin 53 extends upward through the metal plate 43 and upper halfshell 26 and the pin 53 is rotatably mounted thereto. An arm 83 is fixedto the upper end 53' of the pin and a flexible steel wire 54 is attachedto the outer end of the arm 83. The steel wire 54 extends from the arm83 upward along inclined side 29 of the recessed portion 25 of the upperhalf shell and a handle 55 is fixed to the upper end of the steel wire.A flexible conventional metal sleeve 56 surrounds the wire 54 with theupper and lower ends 56' and 56" fixed to the half shell 26. A coilspring 58 has one end 58 attached to brakeshoe 48 and the other endattached to brakeshoe 49 and urge the brakeshoes toward one another.

The mounting post 39 has its upper end 39' rotatably seated in a collar59. The collar 59 is fixed to the upper metal plate 43 and has a hollowbore 59' and provides a surface for the upper end of post 39' to rotatein. The upper surface 59" of the bore rests and rotates upon the top 39"of the post 39.

To operate the brake mechanism to lock the dish member 21 of the ski 22,the operator will pull the handle 55 which pulls the wire 54, therebydrawing the arm 83 counterclockwise when viewed from FIG. 8, from itsposition shown in dashed lines in FIG. 8, indicated by numeral 60 to itsposition shown in solid lines in FIG. 8. The movement of the arm 83counterclockwise moves the cam 52 counterclockwise to its position shownin dashed lines in FIG. 8 and as shown in solid lines in FIG. 7. The cam52 in pivoting counterclockwise will cause its outer ends to engage theouter ends 48" and 49" of the brakeshoes forcing the brakes apart andforcing their fabric outer surfaces 64 and 65 against the inner surface66 of the upright wall portion 42' with the frictional engagement of theouter surfaces 64 and 65 of the brakeshoes against the inner surface 66of the wall 42 locking the dish member 21- with respect to the ski 22.

Pushing the handle 55 in the opposite direction slides the wire 54relative to sleeve 56, projecting the central wire 54 outward. Thecentral wire 54 is relatively stiff so that, the pro.- jecting of thecontrol wire 54 pushes the. arm 83 back to its position shown in dashedlines, thereby moving the cam 52 back to its inoperative position, whichenables the shoes 49 and 48 to shift toward one another under the urgingof spring 58 to their position shown in dashed lines and designated bynumeral 84. This action of the shoes 48 and 49 in moving away from thesidewall 66, frees the drum-mounting post 39 and ski 22 relative to thedish member and the dish member may rotate relative to the ski member.

Also, when the shoes 48 and 49 are in retracted position, shown indashed lines, they may slide freely in the drum 41, and consequently,they will not prevent the dish member from rotating with respect to theski.

When the dish member 21 rotates, its upper and lower half shells, andthe upper and lower plates 43 and 43, the collar 59 spacer tubes 46 andbolt 45, and the brakeshoes 47 and 48, cam 52, and pins 50 and 53, alsorotate with the dish member, while the ski 22 and brakedrum 41 and post39 which connect the two together as already described remainstationary.

OPERATION brakeshoes If the ski sled invention 20 is used on water, therelatively wide water ski 22 illustrated in the drawings (FIGS. 1 and 2)will be utilized. The hollow airtight construction of the dish member 21will keep the sled invention afloat on the water and will havesufficient bouyancy to support a passenger in the dish member.

The ski sled invention will be towed by a power boat by the rope 23, andthe water ski 22 will cause the dish member to raise off the water afterthe sled invention is being pulled at a relatively fast speed.

Since the dish member 21 rides on only a single ski, after it has beentowed at a sufficiently fast rate of speed on the water to raise thedish member off the water, the dish member will tip to one side or theother of the ski. The frictional engagement of the projecting ribs 34 onthe bottom halfshell 27, with the water will cause the dish member 21 torotate on the ski, if the brakeshoes have been disengaged by the pushingof handle 55, and this action will create a novel and exciting ride. Ifthe passenger desires to stop the rotation of the dish member, he willsimply pull the handle 55 which reengages the brakeshows to thebrakedrum locking the dish member 21 to the ski 22, again.

Similarly, the ski sled invention 20 may be towed on snow behind asnowmobile, by attaching the rope 23 to the rear of a snowmobile. Whenthe invention 20 is used on snow, a shorter ski 22 will be utilizedwhich has a shorter tail portion 22" than illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As the ski sled invention 20 travels along on the snow, the

ski 22 will raise the dish member 21 off of the snow and it will tip toone side or the other of the ski and the frictional engagement of theprojecting ribs 34 with the snow will similarly cause the dish member 21to rotate on the ski 22 as the invention travels along the snow, if thebrakeshoes have been disengaged.

SImilarly, if the passenger wishes to stop the rotation of the dishmember relative to the ski, he will do so by pulling the handle 55,which engages the brakeshoes 49 and 48, with the drum 41.

The ribs or pointed comers 34 of the dish member 21, by projecting intothe water or snow, tend to assist in the rotating of the dish memberrelative to the ski, as the sled invention travels along the water orsnow.

Thus it will be seen that a novel ski sled invention has been providedwhich may be used either on water or snow, and which will provide anovel rotating-type action to the dish member as the invention travelsalong the water or snow, by the engagement of the dish member with thewater or snow. This action creates added excitement and enjoyment to theride for a passenger in the dish member.

It will be obvious that various changes and departures may be made tothe invention without departing from the spirit thereof and accordingly,it is not intended that the invention be limited to that specificallydescribed in the s ecifications or as illustrated in the drawings butonly as set orth in the appended claims wherein:

What we claim is:

1. A ski sled for towing behind a power vehicle comprising a ski, a dishmember rotatably mounted centrally to said ski, said dish member havinga hollow recessed center portion for a passenger to ride therein, abrake mechanism for releasably engaging said dish member to said skiwhereby when said ski sled is towed upon a towing surface, thefrictional engagement of the outer surface of the dish member with thetowing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.

2. A ski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanismcomprises a pair of brakeshoes mounted to the dish member which engagesthe drum mounted to the ski for locking the dish member to the ski.

3. A ski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanism includesa handle-operated cable means having a handle mounted to the upperportion of the dish member and a cable connecting the handle to thebrake mechanism whereby movement of the handle will move the cable andthe cable movement operates the brake mechanism.

1. A ski sled for towing behind a power vehicle comprising a ski, a dishmember rotatably mounted centrally to said ski, said dish member havinga hollow recessed center portion for a passenger to ride therein, abrake mechanism for releasably engaging said dish member to said skiwhereby when said ski sled is towed upon a towing surface, thefrictional engagement of the outer surface of the dish member with thetowing surface will cause the dish member to rotate relative to the ski.2. A ski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanismcomprises a pair of brakeshoes mounted to the dish member which engagesthe drum mounted to the ski for locking the dish member to the ski.
 3. Aski sled according to claim 1 wherein said brake mechanism includes ahandle-operated cable means having a handle mounted to the upper portionof the dish member and a cable connecting the handle to the brakemechanism whereby movement of the handle will move the cable and thecable movement operates the brake mechanism.